Winter Meetings: Day 3

Here are some notes from Day 3 at the Winter Meetings:

***The big news is that the Cubs signed FA lefty Ted Lilly. For the full scoop on the Lilly signing see here or here.

***Gil Meche is trying to decide who will make him a millionaire; the Cubs or Blue Jays. The Cubs are making a hard run at him, even having Lou Piniella phone him at home. Early in the day it appeared that the Cubs had the upper hand, but Toronto jumped right back in the picture. Having lost out on Lilly, the Blue Jays may be desperate to sign Meche. Whether he signs with the Cubs or Blue Jays, the contract will probably be very similar to Lilly’s.

***The Cubs traded Freddy “Boom-Boom” Bynum to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later. The Cubs needed to make room on the 40 man roster to accommodate Ted Lilly. There was no word on who the PTBNL would be, but you can be sure it will be someone you’ve never heard of before and will likely not hear from again.

***Kenny Lofton continues to be on the Cubs radar. The team needs a CF, but they don’t want to block the path of budding star Felix Pie. Lofton is asking for $6 million, which seems awfully high to me, but he is still getting interest from several teams.

***No new trade rumors involving Jacque Jones today. Jones was on ESPN 2 last night and admitted (in a round about way) that he would prefer to play somewhere other than in Chicago next year. Jim Hendry also admitted that Jones would like to be traded and that he will try to accommodate the outfielder if the right deal can be made.

***GM Jim Hendry was rushed to the hospital complaining of chest pains. There was no immediate word on his condition, but Larry O’Brien, the agent for Ted Lilly, said that the deal for Lilly was signed while Hendry was hooked up to an EKG machine.

***According to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Cubs have offered 3 years/ $30 million to right hander Jeff Suppan. The Cardinals offered $3 years/$20 million and apparently are not interested in getting in a bidding war over Suppan. Houston also has an interest in Suppan and is likely to overspend in order to add one of the more elite FA to their rotation. It will be interesting to see what the Cubs do if both Suppan and Meche accept their offers.

***Hendry said in an interview today that the price for FA pitching is ridiculous, but it’s still not as bad as the price to trade for starting pitching. The Cubs have shown interest in both Jason Jennings (Colorado) and Jake Westbrook (Cleveland), but the price has just been too high.

***Several outlets reported that the Dodgers had signed Jason Schmidt. But even after the announcement, agents for the former Giants starter were contacting other teams to let them know that the deal with the Dodgers was not completed. The hold up apparently is the requirement that Schmidt take a physical for the Dodgers. The physical is scheduled for tomorrow, and Schmidt’s agents want to keep all doors open until the deal with the Dodgers is done. The Cubs had reportedly offered Schmidt 4 years/ $44 million. The Dodgers deal is for 3 years and $47 million.